As students begin to settle in for the semester ahead, seventeen freshmen have decided to run for the various leadership positions in the Class of 2021 Council election.

The Class Council in each class consists of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and four Senators. The election will occur on Thursday, Sept. 28th. Students of the freshman class may vote in Davison Hall from 10am to 7pm, and in the Coffee Shop from 7pm to 9pm. The ballots allow voters to either check the name of their one desired candidate, or write in another candidate’s name.

Over the past few weeks, candidates have campaigned in a variety of ways. Many of the candidates included a brief biography along with a photograph of themselves in a class-wide email sent out by the Student Government Association. Through the biographies, candidates had the opportunity to introduce themselves to their class, as well as detail their previous leadership experience, and explain why they hope to be elected to the Class Council.

The candidates also prepared speeches to deliver to their classmates at the NHIOP on Thursday, September 21, a week before the election day. Additionally, students created campaign flyers which they hung up in freshman residence halls. Some candidates took advertising to the next level by incorporating Snapchat filters and catchy slogans.

Students have decided to run for office for a variety of reasons. “What better way to get involved on campus than to run for President?” said class president candidate Megan Pina in an interview.

Several students participated in student government at their high schools, and are eager to continue with a leadership role in college. According to their biographies, most candidates are centering their campaigns around helping their class make a lasting impression on the hilltop and bringing together their community.

In their biographies, candidates also make campaign promises such as increasing fundraising and making everyone’s political voice heard. A few even promise to promote ideas from the “Respect the Nest” campaign, such as installing more refillable water stations and trash barrels around campus.

The candidates come from a variety of backgrounds, with students hailing from distant places such as the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, as well as more local areas in Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The President’s role as the head of the Class Council is to oversee class events, prepare the agenda for the Council meetings, and represent the class to the Saint A’s faculty and administration, among other duties. This year, six candidates are running for President: Bailey Conti, Jordan Cook, Brendan Flaherty, Timothy Daley Frenette, Megan Pina and Julie Sullivan.

Pina acknowledges that running for President is quite an ambitious undertaking. However, she likes to challenge herself in all aspects of her life, and has decided she is up for the taks. If elected, Pina hopes to incorporate several new activities to bring the freshman class together. Her ideas include a class movie night, Salsa dancing classes, Roller skating night and several other events designed to create a community atmosphere.

Pina relates her campaign strategy to the main theme of the Individual, the Community and the Divine from her Conversatio seminars. “I want us [as a class] to be the Individual, as if we are all one,” she says.

The Vice President’s obligations include voting in the Student Senate, reporting the class business to the Senate, attending the Class Council meetings and running the meetings if the President is absent. In the event that the President position becomes vacant, the Vice President will assume office, becoming the new President. The four candidates for Vice President are Brodie Deshaies, Madison McKeon, Parker Petruney and Sashoy Powell.

The Secretary’s job is to communicate with the class, take Class Council minutes, deal with disciplinary matters and serve on the Public Relations Committee. At the time the ballot was created, Samantha Riley was the only candidate on the ballot for Secretary.

There are four class senators who serve on numerous committees and are a voting member of the Student Senate. The candidates for senators are Sara Anoli, Scott Arnold, Zachary Covelle, Gabrielle DaCunha, Jenifer Wallitsch and Bentley Warren. Voters are able to select four senators on the ballot, rather than just one.

Election results will be available shortly after the polls close on the 28th of Sept.